Shingle

ABSTRACT

A shingle system for covering sloping roofs and also capable of being used as wall sidings. The shingles are made of heat-insulating material and each main shingle has at its underface a network of intersecting channels communicating with the channels of adjacent shingles for ventilation of the space between the support surface and the shingles, to prevent water condensation. The shingles are laid in cross-rows and longitudinal rows and have keys to interlock adjacent shingles along both rows. The shingles have water barriers at their top face to prevent wind-swept rainwater from entering the joints between adjacent shingles and from overflowing onto the support surface. Concealed passageways are provided to allow this water to run off the shingles. Ridge shingles and side edge shingles are also provided to prevent rain from reaching the support surface, while permitting air circulation between the shingles and the support surface. A fascia board is also provided for the same purpose.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to heat-insulating shingle to be used as aroofing system and also as wall sidings.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Known roofing systems for sloping roofs, such as shingles made ofasphalt, terracotta and the like, do not provide ventilation underneaththe shingles and it frequently happens in cold climates that humidityfrom the house condenses underneath the shingles, and there is producedice formation at the edge of the roof, which blocks water run-off andcauses water infiltration. Heating wires to melt the ice must thereforebe installed over the shingles. This is unsightly and difficult ofupkeep.

The joints between known shingles forming a roof covering are notwaterproof, especially under the action of windswept rain and,therefore, there is often water infiltration under high wind condition.

Known heat insulating shingles possess the same disadvantages.

Terracotta tiles, which impart good aesthetics to a roof, are fragileand, therefore, are difficult to handle; are heavy and thus require roofreinforcement and also suffer from ice formation and water infiltrationby wind-swept rain.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION

It is the general object of the invention to provide shingles whichobviate the above-noted disadvantages.

It is a more specific object of the invention to provide a shingle whichis heat insulating; which prevents water condensation under the same;which prevents infiltration by windswept rain; and which is light weightand yet strong enough to be walked over.

Another object of the invention is to provide an assembly of shingles inwhich all the joints are invisible; in which the shingles can be made toimitate terracotta shingles of various designs and which can be veryquickly laid on a roof and even on existing worn-out roof coveringwithout having to remove the latter.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The main shingle of the invention is generally four sided, made ofheat-insulating material, such as plastic foam, has a flat underface toflatly rest on a support surface, a top face, a front edge face, a backedge face substantially parallel to the front edge face and left-handand right-hand side edge faces., the front edge face and the back edgeface are adapted to abut the back edge face and the front edge face ofadjacent leading and trailing shingles of the same longitudinal row,respectively; the left-hand and right-hand edge faces are adapted toabut a right-hand and a left-hand face of adjacent leading and trailingshingles of the same cross-row. Each shingle is of decreasing thicknessin the upward direction of the longitudinal row, with the top face andthe underface converging toward the back edge face. The underface has anetwork of longitudinal and intersecting transverse channels adapted toregister with the channels of adjacent shingles, in both longitudinalrows and in cross-rows, to provide ventilation underneath the shingles.Each shingle has interfitting key means at its front and back edge facesto prevent the front portion of a trailing shingle from being lifted offthe rear portion of a leading shingle. Each shingle has a front marginalextension of its top face, which overhangs its front edge face. Eachshingle has further a lefthand marginal extension of its top face, whichoverhangs the left-hand edge face and is adapted to overlap a right-handmarginal portion of a leading shingle of the same cross-row. Thus, theshingles form invisible joints. The top face of each shingle is providedwith an upstanding peripheral flange forming a water barrier to preventwind-swept water pushed in the general direction of the ridge of theroof from penetrating the joints of adjacent shingles. Passages areprovided underneath the overlapping portions of the shingles and notchesare made in the back of said left-hand marginal extensions tointerconnect said passages to allow water run-off over the top faces ofthe shingles. The shingles are shaped to provide at least one rib attheir top surface, this rib tapering from front to back of the shingle.Means are provided to automatically align the shingles in cross-rows andin longitudinal rows for easy installation of the same.

Ridge shingles, roof side edge shingles and a fascia strip are alsodisclosed to complete the roofing system.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a partial perspective view of the left-hand side of a doublesloping roof, partially covered with the shingle system of theinvention;

FIG. 2 is a partial front end view of the fascia board and overlyingmain shingles;

FIG. 3 is a partial cross-section taken along line 3--3 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a view similar to that of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a partial longitudinal section taken along line 5--5 of FIG.4;

FIG. 6 is a partial cross-section taken along line 6--6 of FIG. 4;

FIG. 7 is a cross-section taken along line 7--7 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 8 is a partial section taken along 8--8 of FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 and FIG. 10 are perspective views looking at the top and at thebottom, respectively, of a main shingle;

FIG. 11 is a perspective view looking at the top of a second embodimentof the main shingle;

FIG. 12 is a top plan view of the main shingle;

FIG. 13 and FIG. 14 are left-hand side and right-hand side elevations ofthe same, also taken along lines 13--13 and 14--14 of FIG. 17;

FIG. 15 and FIG. 16 are front end and rear end elevations, respectively,of the main shingle;

FIG. 17 is a bottom plan view of the main shingle;

FIGS. 18 to 24 are cross-sections taken along lines 18--18, 19--19,20--20, 21--21, 22--22, 23--23, and 24--24, respectively, of FIG. 17;

FIG. 25 is a top plan view of several main shingles disposed inlongitudinal and in cross-rows, one shingle missing;

FIG. 26 is a top plan view of an array of four main shingles, eachpartially shown and about to be interconnected;

FIG. 27 is a view similar to that of FIG. 26, but with the two uppershingles interconnected and, similarly, the two lower shinglesinterconnected;

FIG. 28 is a section taken along line 28--28 of FIGS. 27 and 34;

FIGS. 29 and 30 are partial front elevations, taken along lines 29--29of FIG. 26 and 30--30 of FIGS. 26 and 34;

FIG. 31 is a partial section taken along line 31--31 of FIG. 27;

FIG. 32 is a partial back end elevation taken along lines 32--32 of FIG.26;

FIG. 33 is a partial back elevation, taken along line 33--33 of FIG. 27;

FIG. 34 is a view similar to that of FIG. 26 but showing three shinglesinterconnected and the remaining shingle not yet interconnected;

FIG. 35 is an elevation of the underface of a series of interconnectedshingles; and

FIGS. 36, 37, and 38 are underface partial plan views of an array offour shingles shown not yet interconnected in FIG. 36, connected two bytwo in FIG. 37; and three shingles interconnected and one shingle aboutto be connected in FIG. 38.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 9 to 11, there is shown a main shingle 10 witha two-rib formation in FIGS. 1, 9 and 10, and a main shingle 10' with asingle-rib formation in FIG. 11. These two types of shingles arebasically the same, the shingle of FIG. 11 covering a smaller area.

The description is made in relation with the shingles of FIGS. 9 and 10.

The shingle 10 is a one-piece quadrangular body made of heat-insulatingmaterial, such as a plastic foam, preferably high-density polystyrenefoam of three to four pounds per cubic foot (3-4 lbs/ft³). Each shingle10 has a body top face 12, an underface 14, a front edge face 6, a backedge face 18 (see FIG. 13), a left-hand side edge face 20 (see FIG. 10)and a right-hand side edge face 22 (see FIG. 15).

The shingle is four sided with the edge faces 16 and 18 parallel to eachother and the edge faces 20, 22 also parallel to each other. As shown inFIGS. 1 and 4, the shingles 10 are adapted to be laid and interlocked incross-rows parallel to the fascia of the roof and in longitudinal rowstowards the ridge of the roof. In the example shown, the shingles can besuccessively laid either in cross-rows or in longitudinal rows, startingfrom the left-hand lower corner of the roof. When laying in crossrows,the left-hand side face 20 of a trailing shingle is adapted to abutagainst the right-hand side edge 22 of a leading shingle.

Similarly, the shingles of a longitudinal row abut each other with theback edge face 18 of a leading shingle in contact with the front edgeface 16 of a trailing shingle (see FIGS. 20 and 21).

Referring to FIGS. 10 and 17, the underface 14 is provided with anetwork of longitudinally-extending channels 24 and with at least onecross-channel 26 intersecting the channels 24, all of these channelsopening at the front and back edge faces 16, 18 and at the left-hand andright-hand side edge faces 20 and 22 of the shingle 10.

As shown in FIG. 35, when the shingles are assembled with their edgefaces in respective mutual abutment, all of the channels 24 and 26 arein mutual register or alignment, providing for the free air circulationbetween the underside of the assembly of shingles and the flatsupporting surface 28 (see FIG. 1) on which the shingles 10 are laid.Therefore, air is free to circulate from the lower edge to the top edgeof the roof, both longitudinally towards the ridge and transverselyacross the roof. The shingles being heat insulating, this air being incontact with the support surface 28, will not become cooled downsufficiently to create water condensation in this space and, therefore,no ice formation will be formed between the shingles and the supportingsurface.

Each shingle 10 is molded in a one-piece unit and, therefore, thepyramidal formations 30 and 32, seen at the underface of the shingle(see FIGS. 10, 17 and 35), are for the purpose of facilitating shingleejection from the mold at the end of the curing cycle.

Each shingle 10 has a front marginal extension 34, which forms acontinuation of the top face 22 and which overhangs the front edge face16. Each shingle 10 has a left-hand marginal extension 36, which alsoforms a left-hand extension of the top face 12 and which overhangs theleft-side edge face 20 (see FIG. 10).

There are formed at top face 22 and at left-hand marginal extension 36longitudinally-extending ribs 38, 40, respectively, each of generallytrapezoidal shape when seen in cross-section, and which longitudinallytapers from front to back of the shingle 10. Rib 38 has an inclined freeedge face 78 (FIG. 9). The underfaces 42 and 44 of the front marginalextension 34 and of the left-hand marginal extension 36, respectively,conform to the shape of the ribs 38, 40. Flanges 46 and 48 have a topface 46A and 48A, respectively, and an inner face 46B and 48B,respectively, upstanding from and joining with body top face 12 (FIG.9).

As clearly shown for instance in FIGS. 18 to 21, each shingle 10progressively decreases in thickness from front to back, that is the topface 12 and the underface 14 converge towards the back edge of theshingle. Each shingle 10 is provided along its back edge with anupstanding flange 46 and along its right-hand side with an upstandingflange 48 forming a continuation of the flange 46. Flange 46 follows thecontour of the ribs 38, 40.

As shown in FIGS. 10 and 20, front marginal extension 34 is providedwith a dependent flange 50, which downwardly protrudes from theunderface 42. Similarly, left-hand marginal extension 36 is provided atits edge with a dependent flange 52 downwardly protruding from itsunderface 44 (see FIG. 10 and FIG. 15). Dependent flanges 50 and 52 havean inner face 50A FIG. 21) and 52A (FIG. 28) respectively, joining withthe underfaces 42 and 44, respectively.

As seen in FIG. 12, the top face 46A of upstanding flange 46 forms anailing area at the back of the shingle 10, as shown by spaced circles54, for the insertion of a screw to fix the shingle to the supportingsurface (see FIGS. 1 and 4). Preferably, screws with washers are usedand compression of the foam material produced by the screws iscompensated by the back notches 56, so that the back edge face 18 of theshingle in the regions of the crews will not bulge to avoid improperinterfitting of the key means described hereinafter. The underface 44(see FIG. 15) of left-hand marginal extension 38 is generally co-planarwith the top face 48A and with the top face 46A adjacent flange 48.

Key means are provided to prevent the front of each shingle from beinglifted off the leading shingle of the same longitudinal row. For thispurpose, as shown in FIGS. 18 to 24, front edge face 16 forms at itslower portion a forwardly-and downwardly-inclined surface portion 58adapted to fit the rearwardly- and upwardly-inclined bevelled rear edgeface portion 60 of the leading shingle of the same longitudinal row.Therefore, the front male key 58 fits with the rear female key 60. Thesefigures also show that male key 58 has a flattened tip 61 so that, whentwo adjacent shingles of a longitudinal row are assembled, there isformed a cavity to receive any accumulated granules which may becomedislodged when the shingles are laid on existing asphalt tiles. FIGS. 18to 24 also show that there is formed a cross-passage 62 at the top face12 of a leading shingle between the upstanding flange 46 of the leadingshingle and the downward flange 50 of the trailing shingle.Cross-passage 62 is formed because the spacing, in a plane parallel tobody top face 12, between inner face 50A of front dependent flange 50and front face 16 is greater than the spacing, in a plane parallel tobody top face 12, between the inner face 46B of back flange 46 and backedge face 18.

Similarly, as shown in FIG. 28, when two adjacent shingles 10 of thesame cross-row are in abutment at their side edge faces, there is formeda longitudinal passage 64 between the upstanding right-hand flange 48 ofthe leading left-hand shingle and the down-flange 52 of the right-handtrailing shingle. Longitudinal passage 64 is formed because the spacing,in a plane parallel to body top face 12, between the inner face 52A oflefthand dependent flange 52 and left-hand side edge face 20, is greaterthan the spacing, in the plane parallel to body top face 12, betweeninner face 48B of flange 48 and right-hand side face 22. Obviously, thecross-passage 62 communicates with the longitudinal passage 64.Therefore, any rain pushed by the wind in the direction of the roofridge (arrow A in FIG. 25) or in a right-hand direction, and which mightenter the joint between the down-flange 50 of a trailing shingle and thetop face 12 of a leading shingle of the same longitudinal row, or thejoint between the down-flange 52 of a trailing shingle and the top face12 of a leading shingle of the same cross-row, will effectively beprevented by the flanges 46, 48, which act as water barriers, fromoverflowing these flanges and enter the joints between the edge faces ofthe adjacent shingles. These passages are also effective to preventwater infiltration of the joints by capillarity between contactingfaces.

Moreover, the passages 62 and 64 allow any water in these passages torun off from shingle to shingle of the same longitudinal row asindicated by arrows B. For this purpose, each shingle (see FIGS. 9 and26) is provided at its back lefthand corner with an inclined notch 66made in the left-hand marginal extension 36 just forwardly of theupstanding flange 46. Furthermore, the front portion of the upstandingflange 48 is cut out, as shown at 70 in FIG. 9 and also in FIG. 26, sothat this flange terminates short of the front edge of the frontmarginal extension 34.

Referring to FIGS. 25, 26, 27, and 34, it will be seen that rain waterflowing down longitudinal passage 64 along shingle 10A as indicated byarrows B and which might be stopped by the overlapping down-flange 50 ofthe shingle 10B of the same cross-row, is free to move laterally acrosscutout 70, then downwardly through inclined notch 66 of diagonallylocated shingle 10C; then directly back into the longitudinal passage 64of the shingle 10D, which is the leading shingle of the longitudinal rowcontaining shingle 10A. Therefore, water runoff is allowed to take placedownwardly from the concealed passages 62, 64 of the shingles of thesame longitudinal row right down to the edge of the roof. It is seenthat notch 66 of shingle 10C communicates the passages 64 of shingles10A and 10D and is covered by the overlapping left-hand part of frontmarginal extension 34 of shingle B.

To permit easy and automatic alignment of the first cross-row ofshingles 10 along the front edge of the roof, each shingle is providedat its left-hand back corner, as shown in FIG. 10, with adownwardly-protruding stop member 72, while each shingle has a cutout 74(see FIG. 9) at its right-hand back corner, this cutout 74 being made inthe back edge face 18 and right-hand side edge face 22. Therefore,several shingles of the leading cross-row are successively positioned onthe support surface 22, so that the stop 72 of a trailing shingle abutscut out 74 of a leading shingle. After alignment of three assembledshingles with the roof edge, the shingles can then be screwed in place.

The ribs 38, 40, when interfitted, provide automatic alignment ofsuccessive shingles in the same longitudinal row. The longitudinaltapering of the ribs 38, 40 is equal to the thickness of these rib wallsat the front marginal extension 34, so that the front extension 34 of atrailing shingle will fit the back marginal area of the top face of theleading shingle of the same longitudinal row. For this purpose also, itis seen, as shown in FIGS. 9, 15, 29, 30 and 34 that the frontright-hand corner of each shingle 10 is provided with a recessedbevelled side edge face portion 76 to accommodate and fit thedownwardlyinclined free edge face 78 of the left-hand rib 38 at the backleft-hand corner of the shingle 10C, which lies diagonally downward fromthe shingle 10A (see FIG. 34). The depth and length of recessed sideedge face portion 76 is such as to permit alignment of successiveshingles and overlapping of a leading shingle by a trailing shingle inthe same longitudinal row.

FIGS. 10 and 32 show that the back end of side downward flange 52 is cutout at 79 to accommodate the back right hand corner formed by flanges46, 48 of the leading shingle of the same cross-row.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, it is seen that the assembly of the mainshingles 10 forms a covering in which the joints between the shingles isinvisible and yet water run-off from the top surface of a shingle isclearly allowed within internal passages 62, 64 from one shingle to theother and from the ridge to the front lower edge of the roof.

If ice adheres to the exposed surface of the shingle, this ice cannotreach and block the internal concealed passages 62, 64 and theirconnection from shingle to shingle. Therefore, water is allowed tofreely flow down the roof, and no water backup can be produced by theice which would cause leakage at shingle joints.

The covering system of the invention further includes for adouble-sloping roof, ridge shingles, generally indicated at 80 in FIGS.1 and 7. Each ridge shingle 80 can also be made of heat-insulatingmaterial, such as polystyrene foam. It has an elongated shape and agenerally V-shape cross-section to conform to the double slope of theroof. Each shingle has at its front edge a downward flange 82. Eachshingle 80 is longitudinally tapered in thickness, as shown in FIG. 8,and is provided at its back edge with an upstanding flange 84 tocooperate with the downward flange 82 of the leading shingle 80 of therow. Each shingle 80 further has a downward side edge flange 86.

This downward flange 86 is positioned to overlap the rear marginalportions of the topmost cross-row of shingles 10, or of similar shingles10E, the back marginal portion having been cut off in accordance withthe width of the remaining portion of the roof to be covered by shingles10E.

With this arrangement, the ventilation air flowing upwardly underneaththe shingles 10 from the front of the roof to the ridge thereof, andindicated by arrows C, is allowed to escape to the atmosphere by flowingunderneath the ridge shingles 80 and around downward flange 86.

Also, the air from the house attic which escapes through ridge slot 90between the top edge of the support surface 281 is allowed to escape tothe atmosphere along the passage defined by arrows D.

The downward flange 86 of the ridge shingles 80 simply rests on the ribs38, 40 of the shingles 10 or 10E, and may be conformed to follow thecontour of the top surface of the shingles 10 or 10E, while leaving aspace for the escape of the ventilation air. The shingle 10 shown inFIG. 8 is not drawn to its true cross-sectional shape since this FIG. 8is only to show how the ridge shingles 80 fit shingles 10.

The roofing system of the invention also includes side shingles,generally indicated at 92, and illustrated in FIGS. 4, 5, and 6. Theseshingles may also be made of heat-insulating material and molded in onepiece. They are longitudinally tapered, so as to overlap each other;they have an L-shape cross-section providing a side vertical leg 94 anda top horizontal leg 96 to overlie the side of the roof and the top ofan adjacent shingle 10F, that is a shingle 10 in which the left-handside marginal extension 36 and rib 38 have been cut out.

The internal surface of the vertical leg 94 is provided with spacers 98to form a stop for the next leading side shingle 92 and to provide aninner space 100 for ventilating air coming from the outside and flowinglaterally through the crosschannels 26, made at the underfaces of theshingles 10 and 10F. Thus, ventilation under the shingles is notprevented along the sides of the roof, while the side shingles 92provide a finish along the roof side. Mirror images of side shingles 92are provided for the roof right hand side and the right hand side of theshingles of the last trailing longitudinal row are cut to size andshaped to fit under leg 96.

FIGS. 1 and 3 show a fascia board 102 to complete the finish of the roofand to anchor the front edge of the lowermost cross-row of shingles 10.The fascia board 102 has an L-shaped cross-section forming a top leg 104overlying the top of the roof and downward leg 106 at the front of theeave board 108. Both legs 104 and 106 provide internal passages 110 forventilating air C to flow through the network of channel 24, 26 of theshingles 10. Air C can also enter channels 24 through eave slot 111.

The top surface of top leg 104 is longitudinally shaped to conform tothe ribs 38, 40 of the shingles 10, so as to close the openings formedat the underside of said ribs. The rear edge of leg 104 is bevelled toform a female key 112, to fit the front male key 58 of the shingles 10of the leading cross-row. This leg 104 is also shaped to allow aninternal passage 114 for the evacuation of the surface water off thelower edge of the roof into a gutter, not shown, normally provided alongthe lower edge of the roof.

All of the shingles in accordance with the present invention arepreferably provided with a coating of a hard synthetic resin to which isadmixed small rock particles, to provide a finish of any desired color,and also to reinforce the shingles, so that they can be easily walkedupon.

The shingles 10 may be fixed to any kind of surface 28, either in thecase of a newly-constructed home consisting of, for instance, plywoodpanels as illustrated in FIGS. 1, 4, 7, and 8, or they may directly befixed to, for instance, to worn-out asphalt shingles without having toremove the latter. Therefore, the shingles of the invention can be fixeddirectly to any generally flat surface, even if there are irregularitieson said surface.

In the description and drawings, there is described main shingles 10which are laid from left to right in cross-rows. Obviously, shingles 10can be modified to be laid from right to left with inter alia the lefthand marginal extension of shingle 10 disposed at the right side of themodified shingle. Therefore, the terms right and left used in the claimsare invertable so that the claims also read on the modified shingle.

I claim:
 1. A shingle consisting of a one-piece quadrangular body, madeof insulating material, having a flat underface, a body top face, afront and a back edge face substantially parallel to each other, aright-hand and a left-hand side edge face generally parallel to eachother, said shingle of decreasing thickness from said front to said backedge face, said underface having intersecting channels opening at allsaid edge faces; a back and a right-hand peripheral flange upstandingfrom said body top face adjacent said back edge face and said right-handside edge face, respectively, and interconnected at a back right-handcorner defined by the junction of said back edge face with saidrighthand side edge face, each peripheral flange having a top face andan inner upstanding face joining with said body top face; the top faceof said back peripheral flange defining fastening areas to fasten saidshingle to an underlying support surface; said front and back edge facesat least partially forwardly and downwardly inclined at substantiallythe same angle relative to said underface; said body top face extendedby a front marginal extension of said body which overhangs said frontedge face and which has an underface; said body top face extended by alefthand side marginal extension of said body which overhangs saidleft-hand side edge face; said left-hand side marginal extension and theleft-hand part of said front marginal extension forming a rib upstandingfrom said body top face and extending from the front edge of said frontmarginal extension to said back edge face, said rib having a free edgeface, said back flange also upstanding from the rear end of said rib:the portion of said rib defining said left-hand side marginal extensionand said left-hand part of said front marginal extension having anunderface which is substantially co-planar with the top face of saidright-hand peripheral flange and with the top face of said backperipheral flange adjacent said right-hand peripheral flange; said ribtapering from front to back of said body an amount about equal to thethickness of said left-hand part of said marginal extension, said frontand left-hand marginal extensions having a front dependent flange and aleft-hand dependent flange downwardly protruding from the underface ofsaid marginal extensions, respectively, said front- and left-handdependent flanges each having an inner face joining with the underfaceof said front marginal extension and with the underface of saidleft-hand marginal extension, respectively: the spacing, in a planeparallel to said body top face, between the inner face of said frontdependent flange and said front edge face being greater than thespacing, in a plane parallel to said body top face, between the innerface of said back flange and said back edge face, the spacing, in aplane parallel to said body top face, between the inner face of saidleft-hand dependent flange and said left-hand side edge face beinggreater than the spacing, in the plane parallel to said body top face,between the inner face of said right-hand upstanding flange and saidright-hand side edge face; said rib having a notch made in its free edgeface adjacent and forwardly of said back flange; said right-handperipheral flange terminating at its front end short of the front edgeof said front marginal extension, the right-hand part of said frontmarginal extension and the front portion of said right-hand side edgeface forming a recessed side edge face portion; said shingle adapted toform with three other identical shingles an array of four adjacentshingles which, when in service, have their underface flatly resting ona sloping or vertical support surface, with said front and back edgeface of each shingle of said array at a substantially constant lowerlevel and higher level, respectively, with a first lower shingle and asecond upper shingle aligned in the same left-hand longitudinal row inthe sloping direction, and with a third lower shingle and a fourth uppershingle aligned in the same right-hand longitudinal row in the slopingdirection, with said first and third lower shingles aligned in the samelower cross-row transverse to said sloping direction and with saidsecond and fourth shingles aligned in the same upper cross-rowtransverse to said sloping direction, said second and fourth shingleshave their front edge face abutting and interlocking with the back edgeface of said first and third shingles, respectively, and said second andfourth shingles have their front marginal extension overlapping saidback flange of said first and third shingle, respectively, the left-handedge face of said third and fourth shingles abutting the right-hand edgeface of said first and second shingles, respectively, said left-handmarginal extension of said third and fourth shingles overlapping saidupstanding right-hand flange of said first and second shingles,respectively, the front dependent flange of said second and fourthshingles contacting the top face of said first and third shingles,respectively, the left-hand dependent flange of said third and fourthshingles contacting the top face of said first and second shinglesrespectively, with the inner faces of each pair of front and backflanges and of each pair of right-hand upstanding flange and left-handdependent flange spaced from each other to define a back concealedpassage at the back of said first and third shingles, and a sideconcealed passage along the left-hand side of said first and secondshingles, said back and side passages intercommunicating at the backright-hand corner of said first shingle and with the notch of said thirdshingle, the side passage along said second shingle being closed at itsforward end by the front dependent flange of said fourth shingle andcommunicating with said notch of said third shingle around the front endof the right-hand upstanding flange of said second shingle, saidlast-named notch in turn communicating the side concealed passage ofsaid first shingle and overlapped by said left-hand part of said frontmarginal extension; said recessed side edge face portion of said secondshingle receiving the rear end portion of the free edge face of the ribof said third shingle to permit alignment of said second and firstshingles in the left-hand longitudinal row and overlapping of said firstshingle by said second shingle.
 2. A shingle as defined in claim 1,wherein said top face is flat and said rib upstands from said top faceend has an external surface which is of cross-sectionally trapezoidalshape.
 3. A shingle as defined in claim 2, provided at the back lefthandcorner with a stop member downwardly protruding from the underface ofits left-hand marginal extension, said shingle being provided at itsback right-hand corner with a notch made in said back edge face and insaid right-hand corner with a notch made in said back edge face and insaid right-hand side edge face, said notch adapted to receive the stopof an adjacent right-hand shingle in the same cross row to align the twoshingles in said same cross row.
 4. A shingle as defined in claim 2,wherein the inner face of said back upstanding flange makes a rightangle with said body top face and the inner face of said front dependentflange is downwardly forwardly inclined.
 5. A shingle as defined inclaim 4, wherein the inner face of said right-hand upstanding flangemakes a right angle with said body top face.
 6. A shingle as defined inclaim 3, wherein the portion of said front dependent flange, whichdepends from the front end of said rib, has a contour for contacting theexternal surface of the rear end of the rib of a lower shingle in thesame longitudinal row.